GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Anna Nordqvist gave her visiting mother the perfect gift Sunday, which also happened to be Mother’s Day in Sweden.

The 27-year-old Nordqvist birdied the 16th and 17th holes to break out of the pack and win the ShopRite LPGA Classic by a stroke. She closed with a 2-under 69 in windy conditions to finish at 8-under 205 at Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course.

The former Arizona State player has five career LPGA Tour titles, winning twice each in 2009 and 2014. And none of those victories could have been any sweeter than Sunday’s, with mother Maria in the gallery.

“It’s the first time I’ve won on the LPGA Tour and one of my family members were there with me, so it’s definitely special,” Nordqvist said. “It’s Mother’s Day in Sweden, so I couldn’t have given her a better present than to spend the day with her.

“I’m just speechless right now. I fought hard today and I can’t believe I’m sitting here with the trophy.”

A stroke behind leader Morgan Pressel entering the round, Nordqvist made her move on the closing three holes – a stretch she played in 5 under the first two days.

She sank a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th to break a tie with Christel Boeljon of the Netherlands and get to 8 under. Nordqvist hit her tee shot on the short par-3 17th to 8 feet to the left of the hole and drained that putt as well to move to two strokes in front.

“I thought I hit a lot of good putts” all day, Nordqvist said. “Just knowing that I hit good putts helped me. I hit a real good putt on 16 and even on 17 to give me a little bit of space there at the last. I felt like I played really well and I put myself in a position to win.”

With Boeljon, winless in five years on the LPGA Tour, missing an 18-inch birdie putt at the 18th while playing in the group ahead, Nordqvist was not hurt by a bogey at the last. She finished her round, played in steady afternoon wind, with five birdies and three bogeys.

After she putted out, she was sprayed with champagne by some fellow players, and then looked for her mother.

“I tried to find her but it was quite a bit of people,” she said. “I saw her after 17 after I just made two straight birdies. And then on 18 I had a short putt to win and just in my line I saw my mom.”

Boeljon, who played for Purdue and was the second in the 2007 NCAA tournament, was a career-best second after a 68. Pressel, who fell out of the lead following a bogey-double bogey stretch on the front nine, tied for third at 5 under after a 73. Rookie Kelly Shon got within one stroke of the lead, but a tough finish dropped her to a 70 and a tie with Pressel.

Nordqvist picked up her first birdie of the day at the par-4 fourth with a 5-foot putt. She moved into a tie for first after Pressel bogeyed the sixth hole and lost the lead to Boeljon after she missed the eighth green and made bogey.

Nordqvist picked up two shots with birdies at the par-5 ninth and short par-4 10th, draining putts of 8 and 6 feet. She dropped back into a tie for first after a three-putt bogey on the difficult par-3 15th but surged into the lead for good with her birdie at 16.

Pressel, who birdied the par-5 third, ran into her worst stretch of the weekend at the sixth and seventh holes. After her approach at No. 6 ran into the collar, she chunked her chip shot and made bogey. Then at the par-3 seventh, she came up well short with her tee ball, hit a bad pitch and three-putted.

The three lost shots dropped her from 8 under to 5 under, trailing by two, and she never held as much of a share of the lead the rest of the day in her bid for her first LPGA Tour win since 2008.

“I just didn’t make anything today,” Pressel said. “I didn’t hit it quite as well. I certainly made a mess of 6 and 7 and got behind the 8-ball early, and these greens are just a little bit too bumpy to make a ton of putts out here, even with good strokes.

“I just had way too many putts and you’re not going to win a tournament hitting 2 over on Sunday.”

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson of Smiths, Falls, Ont., tied for 23rd at 1 under after a final round 67.

Alena Sharp finished 2 over after a final round 72. The Hamilton, Ont., native tied for 51st.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Kyle Thompson became the first player in Web.com Tour history to win an event three times, taking the Rex Hospital Open in a playoff Sunday.

Thompson also won at TPC Wakefield Plantation in 2007 and 2011.

The 36-year-old former South Carolina player, making his second start of the season, won with a 4-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Patton Kizzire and Miguel Angel Carballo.

Thompson holed his winning putt after Carballo missed from 30 feet and Kizzire from 7.

“I knew I had to make it to win,” Thompson said. “I thought, `Just go through the same routine that I did 50 times this week. The putt’s the same today as it was Thursday morning.'”

Thompson earned $112,500 to move into 15th place on the money list. He has four career tour victories, also winning the 2007 Oregon Classic.

“It means I get to keep playing golf for a living. It really does,” Thompson said. “If I miss the cut, I’m looking for a job. Literally, I’m at the end of my rope. Miracles happen. … It’s very emotional. I can’t even put into words what it means to win this golf tournament. I kept my head down and kept doing the best I could. I had total belief that I was going to win this tournament, but I don’t know where that came from.”

Thompson closed with a 4-under 67 to match Kizzire and Carballo at 17-under 267. Carballo birdied the final two holes for a 64. Kizzire finished with a 66.

Kizzire earned $55,000 to jump from fourth to first on the money list with $217,099.

Scott Parel and Drew Scott tied for fourth at 16 under. Parel had a 65, and Scott shot 68.

Canada’s Brad Fritsch tied for 8th 3 shots back of the lead at 14 under after a final round 68.

Vancouver – Atlanta, Georgi’s Drew Weaver defeated Adam Svensson, Taylor Pendrith, Riley Wheeldon and Ross Beal in a playoff on Sunday at Point Grey Golf and Country Club, capturing his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada title at the PC Financial Open.

The 28-year old carded a final round 3-under 69, including a clutch birdie on the 72^nd hole to get into a playoff, then outlasted Svensson on the third extra hole to secure the win and the $31,500 first-place prize.

“It was an incredible finish,” said Weaver. “All week I tried to keep a level head, and thankfully I was able to maintain that in the playoff.”

The playoff finish capped a wild afternoon that saw several players make a charge to the top of the leaderboard. Pendrith, a Mackenzie Tour rookie from Richmond Hill, Ontario, was the first to post 12-under in the clubhouse after a chip-in eagle at the 72^nd hole. Then, Beal, a fellow rookie from Uniontown, Ohio, matched him with an eagle putt from eight feet to share the clubhouse lead at 12-under.

Wheeldon, a Comox, B.C., native with one Mackenzie Tour win, joined them after knocking his approach from the fairway to within four feet and converting the putt, while Svensson, a Surrey, B.C., native playing on a sponsor’s exemption in his first Mackenzie Tour event as a professional, two-putted for birdie after finding the par-5 18^th in two.

Weaver had previously reached 12-under with a birdie on the 11^th hole, but bogeyed 14 to drop a shot behind. His brilliant approach from the 18^th fairway found the par-5 green in two, and a two-putt birdie added his name to the sudden victory playoff.

After Wheeldon, Beal and Pendrith were unable to get good looks at birdie on the 18^th in the first extra hole, Svensson and Weaver both converted from outside of five feet to keep the playoff going. A second trip up the 18^th settled nothing once again, as Weaver two-putted for birdie and Svensson got up and down from just beside the green.

Both players found the 1^st fairway on the third extra hole, with Weaver hitting his approach in a greenside bunker and Svensson running his through the back of the green into an awkward lie. After Weaver blasted out to tap-in range, Svensson ran his chip past the hole and lipped out his birdie putt, giving Weaver a tap-in for the win in his first Mackenzie Tour start.

“All I know is I’m glad that last putt was about four or five inches,” Weaver said afterward, wearing a look of relief on his face.

The win sees Weaver take the early lead atop the Order of Merit, with 11 events remaining to finish in The Five and earn status on the Web.com Tour for 2016, a perk the 28-year old said was the main reason for coming to Canada this summer.

“I’ve had very good summers the past four, five years and unfortunately haven’t had great falls in the [Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament]. I made a very strict plan to come up here and build a bunch of momentum, and I’m excited for the rest of the summer. I’ll have 11 more opportunities to get in contention,” said Weaver, who won on the eGolf Tour earlier this spring.

Svensson, Pendrith, Wheeldon and Beal each earned $11,550 in a tie for second and comprise the remainder of The Five heading into next week’s Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist in Victoria, B.C.

NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland – Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark won the Irish Open in a three-way playoff Sunday after his short winning putt on the first extra hole just barely managed to avoid lipping out.

Kjeldsen entered the final round with a two-stroke lead, but shot a 5-over 76 to finish tied with Eddie Pepperell of England (69) and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria (73). All scored a 2-under total of 282 on the wind-swept, rain-battered Royal County Down, where just five of the 156 competitors finished the tournament under par.

The 40-year-old Kjeldsen took command of the playoff with a precision chip onto the narrow sloping green of the par-5, 525-yard 18th hole – which he had bogeyed Thursday and Saturday and nearly again Sunday.

Wiesberger’s second shot came up short, while Pepperell twice found the rough to bogey the hole. Wiesberger managed par and hoped Kjeldsen would slip up.

But Kjeldsen struck a 35-foot eagle putt that stopped just 3 feet right of the pin. His putt for a winning birdie circled the rim before falling in.

Kjeldsen couldn’t help but smile. Ranked just 303rd in the world entering the Irish Open, he qualified for the British Open with the win. He last played in Europe’s biggest tournament in 2009.

“It’s ridiculous, like I’m dreaming but I don’t want anyone to wake me up,” he said while holding the crystal trophy alongside Rory McIlroy, the host for the Irish Open who failed to make Friday’s cut. McIlroy was far from the only big name who struggled, as many struggled to sink even straightforward putts amid gusting winds and violent rain showers sweeping down onto the seaside course from the nearby Mourne Mountains.

Kjeldsen displayed the same final-stretch nerves that had cost him shots Saturday when he bogeyed the two final holes.

On Sunday he lost a one-shot lead at the par-4 17th despite putting to within 5 feet of the hole on a 35-foot birdie attempt amid 40 mph (65 kph) winds. The crowd groaned when his short putt for par rolled wide.

And on the 18th, he nearly threw away his chance at the playoff, over-hitting his third shot from manicured rough straight across the green and behind another green-side obstacle. But he salvaged that position for par.

Kjeldsen admitted that he felt many times like he might have blown his chance of victory with inadequate play, but found reassurance every time he looked at the leaderboard to discover most of his rivals were struggling, too.

“It was just a brutal day for everyone,” he said. “I think the last breath I took was at about 14. I’ve never been as nervous as this.”

The Irish Open is Kjeldsen’s fourth tour victory. He won the 2009 Andalucia Open, the 2008 Volvo Masters at Valderrama, Spain, and the 2003 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Scotland.

TORONTO – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Golf Canada have announced the four athletes who have been nominated to represent Canada at the TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games from July 10 to 26.

The Canadian athletes nominated by Golf Canada for the Pan Am golf competition – which runs July 16-19 at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont. – were determined based on selection criteria and world ranking as of May 15, 2015.

On the women’s side, 17-year-old former world number one amateur Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. has accepted selection to the Pan Am golf team and will be joined by four-time LPGA Tour winner Lorie Kane of Charlottetown.

The men’s team will be comprised of 18-year-old Austin Connelly who resides in, Irving Texas, currently the 10th ranked player on the World Amateur Golf Rankings along with reigning Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont.

Golf Canada’s National Women’s Team Head Coach Tristan Mullally of Straffan, Ireland along with National Men’s Team Head Coach Derek Ingram of Winnipeg, Man will serve as coaches for the 2015 Pan Am Golf Team.

Selection criteria among those considered for the Canadian Pan Am Golf Team was based on competitive standing inside the top-500 on the World Golf Ranking for professional golfers as well as competitive standing inside the World Amateur Golf Ranking as of May 15, 2015. Players that met the selection criteria had until April 28, 2015 to notify Golf Canada of their interest in being considered for the 2015 Pan Am Golf Team.

The field for the 2015 Pan Am Golf Competition will include 32 women and 32 men competing in a women’s individual, men’s individual and mixed team competition (low female and male score combined).

The Pan Am Games will be a historic event for Canadian golf as the sport will be included for the first time ever as part of the multi-sport Pan Am Games. In 2016, the sport of golf makes its celebrated return to the Olympic sport program for the first time since Canadian George S. Lyon won gold at the 1904 Olympic Games.

Canada will field the largest team in its Pan American Games history with over 700 athletes expected to be named to the Team at the Games in Toronto. With TORONTO 2015 providing a “Home Games” experience, as well as a number of qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, these Games will offer a tremendous experience for Canada’s high performance athletes.

QUOTES
“Canada is proud to be hosting the first-ever Pan Am Games where golf is on the program. This is a fantastic opportunity for our talented golfers to showcase their ability to the Americas with a home soil advantage. Congratulations to all those who made it onto the team.”
– Marcel Aubut, President, Canadian Olympic Committee

“I am incredibly excited for our Canadian golfers to be a part of Pan Am Games history. I am totally confident that this group will re-ignite Canadian success in multi-sport games after George Lyon’s gold medal in 1904. Congratulations to all of the golfers named to the team, I can’t wait to see you all tee off.”
– Curt Harnett, TORONTO 2015 Team Canada Chef de Mission

“We are very excited about the composition of our team for the Pan Am Games and feel confident that they will be very competitive with the field in this event. Lorie and Brooke representing Canada provide a great combination of both youth and experience while Garrett and Austin are two of the top amateurs in the world and will give Canada a great chance over the four days of competition.”
– Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada Chief Sport Officer

“It’s an honour to be selected to represent Canada at the Pan Am Games. In a short time with the national team program I’ve been able to take advantage of great opportunities and I’m sure that the Pan Am Games will be a special golf experience.”
– Austin Connelly, TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Athlete

“I am honoured and extremely excited to be playing for Canada again.I am excited about the quality of schedule I have this year with the Pan Am Games and RBC Canadian Open as well as the other great championships I’ll be competing in this summer.”
– Garrett Rank, TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Athlete

“It is an absolute honour to have the opportunity to represent my country and the Canadian Olympic Committee with my selection to play for Canada at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. I have always proudly represented Canada while playing on the LPGA Tour, but wearing the maple leaf in acclaimed international competition is something I am extremely humbled by and excited about.”
– Lorie Kane, TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games athlete

“It’s really exciting to have been selected to represent Canada in the first ever Pan Am games golf competition. I’ve had so many great experiences being a part of Golf Canada’s national team program since I was 14, and now in my first year as a pro, it’s a great honour to play for my country at the Pan Am Games.”
– Brooke Henderson, TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Athlete

“Canada has a long tradition of excellence in golf, and we are very proud of the team that has been selected to represent our country as this sport makes its Pan Am Games debut this summer. Congratulations to all our golfers; Canadians will be following and encouraging you as you face the best athletes in the Americas at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Good luck!”
– The Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport)

Click here to listen to an interview with Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Development Officer, Jeff Thompson, as he discusses team selection criteria for Canada’s golf contingent for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

IRVING, Texas – Steven Bowditch shot a 4-under 65 on Saturday in the AT&T Byron Nelson to take a two-stroke lead and leave hometown favorite Jordan Spieth six shots back heading into the final round.

On a mostly sunny day that started with the second straight three-hour delay because of earlier rain, Bowditch got to 13-under 195. The Australian won the Texas Open last year in San Antonio for his lone PGA Tour title.

Dustin Johnson was in the group tied for second after the day’s low round of 62 on the rain-altered par 69 at TPC Four Seasons.

Jonathan Randolph, playing with Spieth and sitting 266 spots behind him in the world ranking, briefly held the lead but went in the water on 18 for a double bogey that dropped him into a tie with Johnson, Texan Jimmy Walker, Scott Pinckney and John Curran. Pinckney shot 64, Randolph 65, and Walker and Curran 67.

Spieth had a 68. The Masters champion was tied for 18th.

Curran, the rookie who shared the second-round lead with Bowditch and Walker, rallied with three straight birdies late in the round.

Clouds gradually disappeared during the afternoon and the forecast is clear for Sunday. But the course is still soggy enough that the normally par-4 14th will remain a pitch-and-putt par 3 barely longer than 100 yards for the third straight round.

PGA Tour officials believe it’s the first par-69 course in records going back to 1983. Threesomes will play off both tees again Sunday, and the final par total will be 277 after the first round played at the normal 70.

Bowditch, who held the lead alone after the first round, battled some marshy conditions to stay on top. The 31-year-old Australian who lives in the Dallas area had his only bogey at No. 9, when his tee shot went way right and he had to take a penalty drop in a mushy part of the rough.

The squish of his footsteps could be heard as he spent several minutes discussing his lie with rules official Peter Dachisen before finally hitting. Bowditch shook his head as he walked while the ball rolled onto a cart path behind a bunker left of the hole. He missed a par putt.

Spieth missed short birdie putts on his first two holes and never could make a strong push despite another large gallery urging every shot to go in.

That almost happened on the best spectator hole, the par-3 17th, when Spieth’s tee shot landed less than a foot from the pin before backing up and settling about 8 feet away.

Fittingly on a frustrating day, Spieth left the putt on the edge of the cup, bending down to stare it for a few seconds in case it dropped before the Dallas native tapped it in.

Randolph played a six-hole stretch in 5 under, including an eagle at the par-5 seventh. He was a stroke up on Bowditch after making about a 25-footer at the par-4 12th, with Bowditch pulling even again after almost driving the green on the 323-yard, par-4 11th.

Johnson, who won the Cadillac Championship at Doral in March for his first win since a six-month hiatus for personal reasons, had four birdies in five holes on the front and finished his round by putting his approach at the par-4 18th inside 5 feet for a birdie.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet is tied for 29th at 6 under, seven-shots off the lead.

Adam Hadwin has a share of 54th spot at 3 under.

Amateur Austin Connelly, a dual citizen of Canada and the U.S., made the cut but did not finish as more than 78 players made the 36 hole cut.

Vancouver, B.C. – San Jose, California’s Jay Myers shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday at Point Grey Golf and Country Club to take a one stroke lead over four players heading into the final round of the PC Financial Open, the first event of the 2015 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

Myers, a 24-year year old in his second year on the Mackenzie Tour, carded four straight birdies on his back nine to reach 10-under par, one shot clear of Vancouver-area natives Adam Svensson and Bryn Parry along with Americans Drew Weaver and Ty Dunlap through 54 holes.

“My goal was to get to double digits and I thought that would get me in a good spot going into Sunday. I’m ready to go tomorrow and can’t wait to get out there,” said Myers, who will take his first 54-hole lead on the Mackenzie Tour into the final round.

Starting the day six shots off the lead, Myers began his round slowly but steadily made his way up the leaderboard as Parry, the 54-hole leader, fell to a 3-over 75. A teammate of Mackenzie Tour alumnus and current PGA TOUR member Mark Hubbard at San Jose State, Myers said he was excited to get in the hunt for Sunday and would relish the opportunity to be chased as the leader.

“This is why we play,” said Myers. “It’s a lot of fun to be in these positions and grinding and hitting good shots under the gun. Tomorrow’s going to be a lot of fun no matter what happens.”

Svensson, a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad making his first Mackenzie Tour start since turning professional earlier this spring, carded a bogey-free 68 to share second place through three rounds and give himself a chance to win heading into the final round.

“I expect to shoot a pretty low number,” said Svensson of his expectations after making a slight grip change with his putter before Saturday’s round of 68. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in my putting now, and I’ve always said if I putt pretty well I’ll usually have a good finish.”

Parry’s 3-over 75 left the North Vancouver native, who currently ranks No. 3 in the PGA of Canada Player Rankings, one off the lead, but the 43-year old said he was still upbeat heading into the final round on Sunday.

“If you look at it holistically it’s totally fine,” said Parry, who played full time on the Web.com Tour in 2007 and posted one runner-up finish. “It’s disappointing on a one-day sample size, but I think as well as I’ve played in Vancouver I’m pretty competitive so I like to push myself. We’ll go get a good night’s rest and see if we can be competitive tomorrow.”

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Morgan Pressel said she knew Saturday that it was going to be a tough day in the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic. The wind was strong and steady, the greens were bumpy and she failed to convert some early birdie chances.

But Pressel showed some veteran patience throughout the day and effectively battled the elements well enough to shoot a 2-under 69 and maintain a one-stroke lead.

Pressel had three birdies and a bogey to reach 7-under 135 on Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course. The 27-year-old American won the last of her two LPGA Tour victories in 2008.

“I think my patience was kind of tested on the first few holes where I had a few good birdie opportunities and didn’t even sniff the hole,” Pressel said.

“Rock (caddie Barry Cesarz) said to me, `Keep giving yourself birdie opportunities.’ And I ended up making a few. When you’re missing four or five putts on the front nine from 10 feet for birdie, it can wear on you. You’ve just got to say, `Hey, I made a good stroke, the greens bounced this way.'”

Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist was second. She birdied the last three holes for a 69.

Gerina Piller, Kelly Shon, Pernilla Lindberg, Catriona Matthew and Christel Boeljon were tied for third at 4 under. Shon had a 68, and Piller, Lindberg, Matthew and Boeljon shot 70.

The start was delayed an hour by fog. After the fog lifted, the breeze that usually blows at the Bay Course confounded many players trying to pull the right clubs. In addition, players noted that bumpy greens affected their putting.

Pressel didn’t allow the conditions to bother her. She did card a pair of birdies on her front nine – a 2-putt at the par-5 third hole and on the difficult par-4 sixth.

Her only bogey of the day came at the par-4 13th hole, where she lost her drive into the trees on the right and had to punch out from high grass into the fairway. After her third shot rolled over the green, she got up and down from 6 feet for a good bogey.

“I think that once that went in, my patience was fine,” Pressel said. “I’m like, `OK, I got out of there with a bogey and didn’t make double, and I know that I’ve just got to keep plugging along with pars coming in, and ended up making a good birdie on 16.”

She got the shot back at No. 16, hitting a 7-iron approach from 170 yards to 20 feet, and sinking the putt.

Pressel came close to winning last month, but lost a playoff to top-ranked Lydia Ko in the Swinging Skirts in California.

Nordqvist, a four-time tour winner who had four straight top-10 finishes earlier this year, rallied from bogeys at Nos. 11 and 12.

She began her hot stretch with a 5-foot birdie putt at the 16th, followed by a 6-footer at the short 17th and a 10-footer at the par-5 18th.

“I tried to give myself chances for birdies or play for pars on some holes,” Nordqvist said. “But knowing it’s a three-day event, you’re really going to have to try to shoot low scores every day. I tried to stay patient, and I think it paid off with three birdies there at the end.”

Defending champion Stacy Lewis and 17-year-old Canadian sensation Brooke Henderson struggled, but made the 36-hole cut right on the number at 3-over 145. Lewis had a 73, and Henderson, who had eight birdies in her opening round, went without a birdie Saturday in her round of 77.

Canada’s Alena Sharp also made the 36-hole cut. The Hamilton, Ont. native carded a 76 to sit tied for 35th at 1-over.

Michelle Wie, who withdrew from the Kingsmill Championship for what was diagnosed as bursitis in her left hip, missed the cut with a 72 and 4-over 146 total. She said her hip was sore and that she was considering withdrawing from the Manulife Classic next week in Cambridge, Ontario.

NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland – Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark shot a 4-under 67 to take a two-stroke lead Saturday in the third round of the Irish Open.

The 40-year-old Kjeldsen used superior putting to break free of a six-way tie as gusting winds at Royal County Down sabotaged many players’ short games.

He rolled a long eagle attempt on the 12th to within 18 inches, settling for his fifth birdie. On the next hole, his curling 30-yard putt for a sixth birdie left Kjeldsen punching the air in jubilation.

But Kjeldsen, ranked 303rd, bogeyed the final two holes to reduce his lead over Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain and Maximilian Kieffer of Germany.

Kieffer shot a course-record round of 65, one shot lower than the previous best set in 1939 and matched Friday.

IRVING, Texas – Jordan Spieth wasn’t sure what par was at his hometown AT&T Byron Nelson and thinks it actually might have helped him through some frustrating early holes.

There’s a reason the Masters champion was uncertain – overnight rain turned one of the signature par 4s at the saturated TPC Four Seasons into a pitch-and-putt par 3 at 105 yards for the second round Friday.

Spieth and every other early finisher within three shots of clubhouse leader Jon Curran turned in a birdie 2, and Gary Woodland had a hole-in-one when it was still possible that the easy wedge over a pond would play as a par 4. Tour officials later made the switch.

“I was able to fire at more pins, not really worry about anybody else,” said Spieth, who shot 64 – 5 under because par became 69 to put him at 6 under for the tournament. “Really actually helped because I didn’t know what score I was at when it’s a par 4, 4 par, par 3, don’t really know what it’s at.”

Curran shot 63 and was at 9-under 130 with the two-round par total at 139 instead of 140, with several contenders unlikely to finish the round because of a three-hour delay at the start. Cameron Percy was a shot back after an eagle at the par-5 seventh for a 64.

Defending champion Brendon Todd shot 68 and was 1 over for the tournament, unlikely to make the cut.

The fairway at the normally 406-yard 14th was deemed unplayable in the landing area after 5 inches of rain fell starting about midnight, pushing the total to about 17 inches in less than three weeks at the Four Seasons course. Texas officials have declared May the wettest month in the state’s history.

Muddy footprints marked the area where a dip in the fairway funneled down to a rain-swollen canal off to the right. Standing water covered the ground under some trees, about the same spot where Spieth chipped out in Thursday’s first round and ended up with a bogey.

The temporary tee box was on the fairway side of a pond that wraps around the left side of the green. Tour officials believe it was the first such alteration since the 2005 WGC-Match Play Championship, when flooding at La Costa in Carlsbad, California, temporarily turned a 467-yard par 4 into a 162-yard par 3.

“It was really tricky,” said the 21-year-old Spieth, who birdied his final three holes at Nos. 7-9. “We get up there and it’s 105 yards, but it’s off a steep upslope and really muddy. I don’t think we’ll see that, if ever, again, something like that.”

Curran, a 28-year-old rookie looking for his first PGA Tour win, shot 29 starting on the back nine, with the same boost as others on the 300-yard head start at 14. He had bogeys on the first and sixth holes to prevent a serious run at a 59 – with an asterisk of course.

“I knew it was a 105-yard hole,” Curran said. “I don’t think anybody really knew what all was going on. I think it was good that they gave us a chance to get out there and play.”

Nick Watney had a bogey-free 65 and was in a group at 7 under that included 48-year-old Jerry Kelly, who also shot 29 while starting on the back nine. Yes, he had a 2 on 14.

“I would have counted those as 1-under par 4,” said Kelly, who had the last of his three tour wins in 2009. “That’s all I got to say.”

There’s another strong change of overnight storms into Saturday, but the forecast improves considerably later in the day and into Sunday. Workers spent about six hours getting the course ready starting around 4 Friday morning and might have to do it again.

“They’ve probably not really enjoyed each night for the last month or two months,” said Spieth, who finished 16th in his first pro tournament as a 16-year-old amateur at the Nelson five years ago. “But hats off to them and hopefully they can catch a break now.”

And the players can know what par is.

Graham DeLaet was able to get through his first 36 holes. The Weyburn, Sask., native sat tied for 27th at 4-under as of Friday night.

Team Canada’s Austin Connelly was 2-under with five holes left in his second round, while Adam Hadwin was sitting on the cut line with at 1 under with three holes remaining in his opening two rounds.